Deerfoot Trail's slow, inconsistent pace frustrates Calgarians

The slow pace of a freeway is the biggest beef Calgarians have with Deerfoot Trail, according to a new survey.

The city’s latest study on Deerfoot Trail shows Calgarians are frustrated with a number of problem areas on the north-south thoroughfare, but are most concerned with construction delays, predictable travel times and timely clearing of collisions.

In June, 8,140 Calgarians participated in the study online and in person. The survey, obtained by Postmedia, gauged what Calgarians see as important characteristics and also their satisfaction with the current state of Deerfoot Trail.

The study found inconsistent and unpredictable travel times had commuters seeing red. Nearly 5,700 Calgarians reported being dissatisfied compared with only 1,681 that were content, with 40 per cent of those surveyed saying they experience delays “most of the time.”

Construction delays were also a major bone of contention, with 4,286 Calgarians saying they were dissatisfied with construction delays, and just 2,838 who felt satisfied.

Calgarians, meanwhile, were split over their satisfaction with the time it takes to clear collisions off the 50-km stretch of highway, with 3,618 commuters showing some level of satisfaction, compared to 3,349 who weren’t happy.

Of all the problems plaguing Deerfoot Trail, the study found the most important issues to Calgarians are clearing collisions, duration of travel times, reducing construction delays, predictable travel times and access for emergency vehicles.

Sean Somers with the City of Calgary’s Transportation Department said he is not surprised by the study’s findings.

“I guess the reality is, Deerfoot was constructed in the early ’70s through until the early ’80s, and Calgary has changed significantly since then.”

Somers said when Deerfoot was first built, it was designed to carry approximately 65,000 vehicles per day, but some areas in the north of the city are seeing 170,000 vehicles on the highway every day.

“The population (of Calgary) has probably doubled if not tripled since then and, obviously, there’s incredible demands put on Deerfoot Trail,” he said.

The study also featured a mapping tool, allowing Calgarians to pinpoint some of the highest primary problem areas.

With 777 complaints, the largest pinch point identified in the study is the Anderson Road and Bow Bottom Trail exit, where southeast Coun. Shane Keating said his constituents are continually frustrated by the bottleneck.

“That’s what we’ve been hearing for years,” said Keating, who also serves as chair for the city’s transportation committee.

“I’ve been in the office for six years, and I’ve been hearing about the problems on Deerfoot for six years.”

Currently, Deerfoot Trail is a highway controlled and maintained by the province. Somers said the city will eventually take control of Deerfoot, but that process is still years away.

“There’s been talk of that handover coming to us, so I can’t say one way or another when that’s going to happen,” Somers said.

“Definitely, for now it remains a provincial highway . . . but obviously one that’s very important to Calgarians.”

Keating said he hopes future phases of the Deerfoot Trail study will provide long-term solutions for the highway before the city takes the reins, suggesting carpool lanes or some sort of toll system may help ease congestion.

“The difficulty is we need to get this fixed before it comes back to the city, or when there is a funding mechanism in place to fix it,” he said.rrumbolt@postmedia.com twitter: @RCRumbolt

What the city’s Deerfoot Trail survey found:

How often did respondents use Deerfoot? Daily — 73% Weekly — 19% Few times a month — 6% Occasionally — 2%

How do Deerfoot users typically travel? Alone in a vehicle — 70% In vehicle with others — 23% Other — 7%

Five most needed improvements on Deerfoot Trail (based on those who rated as most important): 1. Clearing collisions 2. Duration of travel times 3. Reducing construction delays 4. Predictable travel times 5. Emergency access

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